Response Essay 4: Live

Central Argument: Intelligence does not come from studies alone, but from a practical application of what you study, and first hand experience.

There have been a lot of times when I have found myself in a position, where I could give an answer without having had any prior training. This is what leads me to believe Sir Francis Bacons beliefs, about how experiencing things in life adds to your knowledge.

Many people who spend time on studies and nothing else are lost in the world, because they do not understand how to apply what they have learnt. I also know people who seem to waste time doing useless things, but instead end up successful. The point is they do things, and according to Sir Bacon, doing matters.

            Benjamin Franklin once said, “we are all born ignorant, but one must work hard to remain stupid.” There is a lot more to education than just studies. In fact, I believe that one can learn from any experience. We as human beings constantly grow, and do not stop learning till death. I believe that there is a reason to why older people are usually wiser, and the reason is experience. Like Franklin said, getting smarter is a natural thing. We are smart beings, and we usually learn from the past, or the mistakes we make. There are also people who get a perfect score in the SAT, by studying hard, but have no idea on how to survive in a university. A person can learn the physics involved in how to shoot a basketball all he wants, but he will never be good at it unless he practices. He will not know what to do, unless he fails and realizes how the ball actually moves.

             “Crafty men contemn studies, simple men admire them, and wise men use them.” I learn more about how a cue ball travels, by playing pool rather than siting in a classroom and calculating the angle at which I should strike the ball. Studies are very important, but not as important as living. We cannot live without learning, and we cannot learn without living. I would not have understood Of Studies by Sir Francis Bacon, if I could not relate to the things that he is talking about. I could relate to his words because in time, I have learned that the things I have done in the past have helped me make better decisions, than the things that I have studied in the past.

 “Studies themselves, do give forth directions too much at large, except the be bounded in by experience.” Studying offers a lot of ways to do things, but things will never get done unless someone closes the book and actually tries to do what he has learnt. Through my experiences, I have learnt that practice does make perfect. People can choose not to study, but they will still be learning as long as they continue to do things; no matter how useless that thing might be.